Emmerson Amidu Bockarie (stage name Emmerson) is a Sierra Leonean Afropop singer who criticizes corruption in the government of Sierra Leone and has become well known in his country for lyrics that promote social change. He sings in the Krio and English languages.
Bockarie was born in Kenema. He dropped out of a computer engineering program at Njala University to pursue his aspirations in music. His first release was a mixtape called Bodyguard Compilation, Volume One (2002), which contained a single, "Yu Go See Am". A studio album, Borbor Belleh, with supporting vocals by Velma "Vee" Richards, followed in October 2004. His later albums include 2 Fut Arata (2007), Yesterday Betteh Pass Tiday (2010), Rise (2012), Kokobeh (2013), Home and Away (2014), and Survivor (2016). In May 2017 he released a new single, "Love Me". Among his previous singles are "Telescope" (2015) and "Tutu Pati".
One of Emmerson's anti-corruption-themed protest songs, "Borbor Bele" (which means "Potbellied Boy"), spoke to the frustration and disillusionment Sierra Leoneans felt towards their leaders/ruling class. The album largely addressed the kleptocratic institutions and the culture and ideology that drives them. "Borbor Bele" spoke about many of the reasons on why the incumbent Sierra Leone People's Party should lose to the All People's Congress in the Sierra Leonean general election, 2007.